David H. DePatie
| David H. DePatie | |
|---|---|
| Born |
David Hudson DePatie May 26, 1935 Shiprock, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Occupation | Producer, businessman (Founder of DFE) |
| Years active | 1960–present |
David Hudson DePatie (born May 26, 1935) is an American businessman. He was the last executive in charge of the original Warner Bros. Cartoons cartoon studio. He also formed DePatie-Freleng Enterprises and was an executive producer at Marvel Productions.
Warner Brothers
Leon Schlesinger became the production executive at the Warner Brothers animation studio until his retirement in 1944. Eddie Selzer then became the production executive. In 1957, John W. Burton became production executive for a few years until Burton accepted a position of another company that Leon Schlesinger founded called Pacific Title and Art. David H. DePatie became production executive in 1960, taking over for Burton.
Similar to his two predecessors, DePatie did not receive on-screen credit. He had similar business practices commonly found in animation production companies which included similarities with Schlesinger and Selzer.
Still receiving no on-screen credit, the Warner Brothers cartoons continued using the same production staff, the commonly used Bullseye style opening and closing, musical theme, and cursive "That's All Folks!".
In 1963, DePatie began the transition of these animated shorts into television. This time period faced budget reductions and censorship issues. An unsold pilot, Adventures of the Road Runner was released in 1963 as To Beep or Not to Beep with new score by William Lava. The remaining footage was not released at that time.
Shortly afterwards in 1963, significant production changes occurred for new Warner Bros. cartoons. David H. DePatie received on-screen production credit and Friz Freleng was promoted to producer. Chuck Jones left for Tom and Jerry theatricals and television adaptations. Most episodes were then directed by Rudy Larriva. A neutral color scheme was applied to compensate for possible black and white television reception. Additionally, the opening and closing segments for "Now Hear This" were used. The new segments utilize limited animation and featured a spinning asterisk on a dark background, two triangles and two semi-circles appearing one after the other forming "WB", and bouncing "oo" in the word "cartoon". The usual theme was "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down". An alternate theme consisted of loud Westminster Chimes which matched the appearance of each shape (on a white background), with bicycle horns accompanying the bouncing "oo". Character appearances were limited to Granny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Sylvester, Speedy Gonzales, Wile E. Coyote, and Road Runner. Production was subcontracted to Format Films.
In 1965, "Zip, Zip, Hurray!" and Road Runner A-Go-Go were released using footage from Adventures of the Road Runner while maintaining a production credit of Milt Franklyn. Stock music was used for Road Runner shorts spanning from "Tired and Feathered" to Sugar and Spies.
Depatie-Freleng Enterprises
During his production position at Warner Brothers, he originally received no on-screen credit, similar to his two predecessors after Leon Schlesinger retired in 1944. In 1963, he began to receive on-screen credit with new producer (and former director) Friz Freleng. Around this time, they formed DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, also known as Depatie-Freleng Entertainment, and known on-screen as "DFE Films".
The Pink Panther
David H. Depatie along with Friz Freleng, animated numerous opening segments for Pink Panther films. In these, a Pink Panther appeared in the opening credits as the villain. Music was scored by Henry Mancini. He would appear in many animated shorts of his own, also produced by Depatie-Freleng. When these shorts aired on television, they were paired with backup segments. Music was composed by William Lava, Walter Greene, Doug Goodwin and his son Steve DePatie. These cartoons were directed by many people including Arthur Davis, Robert McKimson, Hawley Pratt, and Gerry Chiniquy.
Dr. Seuss television specials
Chuck Jones was producing Dr. Seuss specials for Metro-Goldwyn Mayer, until MGM shut down the animation studio. DePatie-Freleng picked up production of The Cat in The Hat. Music was composed by Dean Elliott for four Dr. Seuss specials, Hawley Pratt directed three specials, and Maurice Noble was production designer for four specials. Chuck Jones co-produced with Ted Geisel while David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng were Executive Producers for The Cat in The Hat only. Since Chuck Jones was working for ABC, he no longer worked on any more Dr. Seuss specials. Friz Freleng and Ted Geisel became producer but were credited separately. David H. DePatie was the only one credited as Executive Producer. Music was scored by Joe Raposo for three later specials. Depatie-Freleng's last Dr. Seuss special was The Grinch Grinches The Cat In The Hat, which was around the time that DFE became part of Cadence Industries, and rebranded as Marvel Productions.
Marvel Productions
David H. Depatie and some of his production staff worked for Marvel Productions. He was an executive producer.[1] He was Executive producer for X-Men.
References
- ↑ "DePATIE, David H.". ASIFA-Hollywood Cartoon Hall Of Fame. The International Animated Film Society: ASIFA-Hollywood. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
External links
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